


Let the Games Begin

by Eccentric_Musician16



Series: Magical Creatures AU [3]
Category: K-pop, VIXX
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-09-08 14:33:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8848747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eccentric_Musician16/pseuds/Eccentric_Musician16
Summary: The boys get into some trouble during Rock Ur Body filming.





	1. Game Start

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: Completely revamped this chapter because the original was just...very much meh. This one works out a lot better I think!

The dorm was surprisingly peaceful at night.

Sanghyuk sighed audibly; gangly limbs sprawled out along the couch, staring listlessly at the roof. He’d woken with a splitting headache for the third time this week and was currently waiting for the pain medicine to kick in.

He hated this. Not only because headaches sucked on any given day, but having to wait for the medicine to work meant he couldn’t go back to sleep, which meant he was stuck with nothing but his thoughts until further notice.

And boy, he didn’t even want to think of what a mess those were.

It had been weeks since their debut stage and everyone was still walking on eggshells whenever magic was brought up. They were treating him like he was some fragile porcelain doll and it was driving him absolutely crazy.

His fingers absently drumming against the couch with dull thumps. He knew it came from a good place. He knew they were just worried about him, but it grinded on his nerves all the same. He didn’t need to be treated like some delicate flower, thank you very much. He was sixteen; he could handle it.

Sure, the whole ‘magic is real’ thing had been shocking to say the least, but he was fine. He accepted it, accepted that there was an entire world he never knew about before.

He accepted that other people, even some he knew, kept this hidden from him.

He accepted that his own members were a part it, even if it hurt a little that they were so positive he’d rat them out.

Sanghyuk turned on his side to gaze at the night sky trough the sliding glass door, now gradually lightening with the morning’s first rays.

Hakyeon would be waking up soon, which meant he’d been doing his rounds and waking them all up. If he saw Sanghyuk right now he’d sit him down and have a long talk about feelings.

He swore he could hear Hakyeon’s nagging voice telling him how bottling up you issues is not a good habit Han Sanghyuk, if something’s wrong you need to speak about it, for your own sake as much as the group’s.

And with that pleasant thought he slid off the couch and crept back to the bedroom.

He silently chastised himself for still holding onto those feelings. Sanghyuk didn’t want to stir those waters any longer, especially after the six of them finally slipped back into the easy, if somewhat awkward camaraderie from before.

Carefully, he stepped over the snoring lump of blankets he was pretty sure was Wonshik; he didn’t know anyone else whose snores could threaten to collapse a building. He hopped over Jaehwan, tightly curled up under his covers, before finally reaching his mattress and collapsing into it.

The movement must have been a little rougher than he thought because Jaehwan’s eyes cracked open. “Sanghyuk?” he mumbled, voice slurred.

“Go back to sleep hyung,” Sanghyuk said, “Hakyeon hyung isn’t up yet.” Jaehwan hummed in return and Sanghyuk heard the rustle of bed sheets as he slipped back into peaceful slumber.

Finally, as the sun’s rays began to peak through the window, Sanghyuk closed his eyes, forcing himself to try to get a few more minutes of rest.

He had no idea how much he’d need it.

 

++++++

 

“Are kidding me? This game is fu-“

“Hmmm?”

“This game is freaking rigged. Rigged I tell you!”

“Yeah, I thought so.” There was a pause. “But let’s face it, you suck at arcade games.”

“Han Sanghyuk, don’t blasphemy!”

There was an aggravated sigh. “Fine, fine.”

“That’s right, you better-“

“You suck at any game,” Sanghyuk laughed. It morphed into a maniac cackle as he expertly dodged a swift neck chop.

“Get back here maknae!” Jaehwan shouted. He flung himself at the rapidly retreating Sanghyuk, yelling about the need to respect the ‘wisest and cleverest hyung you little shit. Yeah, you better run because once I get my hands on you-‘

At that point, every person within the vicinity tuned them out. Jaehwan proclaiming his plans for sweet, terrible revenge against Sanghyuk was nothing new— it was practically a bi-weekly occurrence by now.

Hongbin scoffed, bringing up his water bottle to hide his smirk, turning to an equally amused Wonshik to say, “One day, Hyukkie is going to push him too far and end up getting his ass cursed.”

Wonshik dropped into the seat of the racing game Hongbin was leaning against. “Jaehwan hyung wouldn’t and you know it,“ he took a long swig from his own bottle, “he has the biggest soft spot for him.”

Hongbin hummed, watching Jaehwan chase Sanghyuk around the set with the same single-minded intensity of a hound dog hunting a rabbit. The crewmembers barely acknowledged them, simply shifting things (or themselves) out of the way and continuing about their work.

A heavy sigh caused Hongbin and Wonshik to glance at Hakyeon.

“They better not break anything,” he grumbled. “Fending off angry photographers and camera crew is bad enough as it is, I don’t need them adding to it.” 

A crash echoed from somewhere behind him. Across the room the director shot Hakyeon a look.

Hakyeon pinched the bridge of his nose. Taekwoon quietly patted his shoulder in a show of sympathy.

“Damnit Sanghyuk!” Jaehwan screamed. Hakyeon looked up to see the pair running among the game machines, weaving between the aisles like a pair of crazed gazelle. “Stand still so I can curse you already!”

Sanghyuk laughed condescendingly, expertly twisting out of Jaehwan’s reach as he ducked behind a Pac Man machine. “As if!”

Jaehwan growled, hands glowing white. “I mean it this time, you demon.”

Sanghyuk peaked out from his hiding spot, eyes blown wide as he made a pathetic hurt sound, long lashes fluttering innocently. “So not only do you fail at games and lie, but you confuse your precious, angelic little maknae with a demon?”

“Angel my foot! If you’re an angel, then I’m a gnome!” The smirk that spread across Sanghyuk’s face made Hakyeon silently pray for Jaehwan’s dignity.

Assured neither two were in danger of accidently killing each other, Hakyeon allowed his mind to wander, thinking back on the past few months. Their Superhero promotions had been hectic and, quite frankly, exhausting. They’d only had enough time for a small break before beginning their plans for their first official comeback.

Ideas had been tossed around for days between the company heads and the members themselves; it felt like they had considered every genre and every style at least once.

Hakyeon knew the others had wanted something new, something fun and energetic for their first ever comeback. Their debut had been received fairly well and they wanted to take advantage of that building momentum; they needed a concept that could do just that.

So, when someone half-jokingly suggested a video game or arcade concept, they all jumped on it. 

It was exactly what they were looking for; something bright and fun that let them show off another side of their skills. They worked harder than ever to create something that could make their angels – no, their Starlights – proud.

Sanghyuk yelped as he just barely avoided tripping over an electrical cable. He was about to curse his own clumsiness when he noticed the shimmer surrounding it. “Hyung! No fair using magic!”

He could hear the smirk in Jaehwan’s voice. “Think of this as practice for that Intuition of yours. You feel my magic and you won’t get your ass handed to you!”

“But—!”

“Sanghyuk, I’m fae; I’ve been twisting and re-twisting words in my favor since I started talking. Quit while you’re ahead, yeah?”

“Hyung, that’s— shit!”

Wonshik laughed from behind his bottle. “Oh, he’s in trouble now.” Hongbin watched them, unblinking, leaning forward as if he were watching a particularly fascinating nature documentary. Hakyeon couldn’t resist the quiet chuckle that escaped his pressed lips. 

Sanghyuk threw himself behind the air hockey table as a beam of magic soared over his head, dissipating as it hit the wall behind him. “Lee Jaehwan!” he yelled, dropping the formalities in his panic. His head peaked from around the corner, glaring. “Your insane troll logic is going to get me killed!”

Jaehwan made a noise of offense, whether it was over the missing honorific or the troll accusation, Sanghyuk wasn’t sure. “First of all, fae not troll; get your facts straight. Second, I’m using non-lethal magic; I’m not stupid. And third, you can’t be angry at me for wanting to help our pwecious wittle baby master his first big boy powers.”

Whoosh. Thwack.

An air hockey puck soared across the room and hit the wall where Jaehwan’s head had been not two seconds ago. Jaehwan stared for a few seconds, blinking wildly, before shooting another bolt of magic, this one a little bigger, as Sanghyuk made a hasty retreat. 

Taekwoon’s deep, rumbling chuckle echoed pleasantly in Hakyeon’s ears. Of course he’d find this funny. Of course he would.

Hakyeon exhaled, admittedly relived to finally see Sanghyuk enjoying himself. He’d been looking downright exhausted lately; it was nice to see that smile of his again.

He wondered if Sanghyuk’s Intuition was causing him problems gain. Hakyeon mentally winced; the poor kid had really been given the short end of the stick on this matter. While Sanghyuk was getting faster and more accurate (to the point where he could recognize people he was around a lot, like the other members), but that didn’t necessarily mean he had any control.

It was finicky— annoyingly so, from what Hakyeon could see. Sometimes Sanghyuk could sense a siren walking through the opposite side of a building, but other times he couldn’t even catch a fraction of a feeling when Jaehwan was standing in the same room.

Hakyeon wasn’t blind; he knew the frustration was taking a toll on Sanghyuk and he wanted nothing more than to grab him by shoulders and shake it out of him. But, he also knew trying to force it would only make him deny it. So, all Hakyeon could do was wait and be there when his youngest needed him. 

But that didn’t mean Hakyeon liked waiting, especially when he could see the tired slump of Sanghyuk’s shoulders and the bitten back yawns hidden behind his hand.

He felt Taekwoon switch to a gentle kneading, his long fingers carefully massaging into Hakyeon’s shoulder. He gave the leader a look, eyes silently asking what was wrong. Hakyeon shrugged it off.

Suddenly, Jaehwan’s wordless screech of outrage echoed through the set. It was followed by a sharp crackle of magic and a startled yelp from Sanghyuk.

“Jaehwan, be careful with you magic!” Hakyeon scolded, having seen Sanghyuk fall to the ground, gaping, and wide-eyed, as a white shimmer surrounded the arcade machine behind him. 

“Yeah, yeah.” He could practically hear the eye roll in Jaehwan’s voice.

“I’m serious. We don’t want a repeat of The Amusement Park Incident do we?” Hakyeon smirked at Jaehwan’s violent flinch.

Sanghyuk’s brow furrowed. “The wha—?”

“Nothing! Never you mind!” Jaehwan yelled over him. “It never happened ok? Ok. Moving on.” 

He ran to the still downed Sanghyuk and used his magic to hastily pull him up. Still horribly confused, the younger allowed it to drag him back towards the snickering members.

Hakyeon scoffed. “Yeah, I thought so.”

Sanghyuk blinked. “But—“

“Boys! Break’s over,” their manager called from across the set. “We need to get those dance scenes filmed!”

With a few final jabs at Jaehwan’s expense the members took their leave, Jaehwan pouting the whole way. They left a still perplexed Sanghyuk behind.

“No for real, what amusement park? Hello? Guys? Guys come o—“

A sudden feeling, a shiver running down his spine, cut him off. It felt like something, someone, was watching him. 

Sanghyuk’s head snapped back over his shoulder. He took a shuddery breath and let his senses fan out, hoping they would actually listen to him for once, but all he couldn’t really feel anything out of the ordinary.

Taking a few calming breathes he tentatively neared one of the arcade games. It was the same one Jaehwan had accidentally blasted earlier, the Pac Man game. Cautiously he brushed his hand over the controls, making sure to push each button and jostle the joystick. He watched the screen with critical eyes.

Nothing happened besides the screen flashing to the demo screen, showing Pac Man run into a power up, giving him the ability to chase down the previously invincible ghosts.

Sanghyuk let out a sigh of relief, shaking his head at his own paranoia. Must have been the Intuition acting up again.

“Hyukkie!” he heard Hongbin yell. “Get over here, we gotta film!”

He gave one last glance to the arcade machine; Pac Man’s power up ran out just as he cornered the red ghost. He silently chastised himself for getting so riled up over nothing. “Coming!” he yelled back. 

What Sanghyuk didn’t see, however, was the depowered Pac Man barreling toward the red ghost and successfully eating it. It repeated the process with each one, easily gobbling up the pink, orange, and blue ghosts before turning to the maze walls and eating them as well.

 

++++++

 

“And cut!”

The six members dropped out of the ending poses, beyond relieved to be done with the shot.

“So,” Hongbin said, wide smile on his face. “How many more takes do you think they’ll want?”

“My bets on three!” Wonshik yelled.

“Five!”

“Thirteen,” Jaehwan cackled.

Hakyeon grimaced. “It better not be thirteen! There’s only so many times they can expect us to do the same choreo without wanting to strangle someone.” Taekwoon nodded sagely in agreement.

“There’ll be no strangling anyone on my watch,” their manager said, not bothering to look up from his phone. “If you guys are desperate for something to do, why don’t you spend some time in the arcade? You guys like games, right?”

At the surprisingly lack of response he looked up, raising a brow at their baffled looks.

“What?”

“No, nothing. It’s just…” Wonshik trailed off.

“You’re actually giving us free time,” Hongbin finished. “Willingly.”

Their manager rolled his eyes. “It’ll still be a while until we can head back to the dorms and since you’re done filming there really isn’t much you can do right now. I’m just trying to make the wait a little less boring.” He made a face. “Also, Jaehwan-ah has been known to experiment with spells that can break the fabric of reality when he’s bored and frankly, I’m stressed enough as it is. I don’t need a repeat of The Amusement Park Incident.”

“When will you let that die?” the vocalist yelled, to everyone’s immense amusement. 

Everyone except Sanghyuk, anyway, he just looked confused.

“Of course, I completely understand if you don’t want to take a break.” A sly smirk spread across the manager’s face as their expressions changed to pure panic. “I’m sure I could find something for you all to—“

“So whose up for a round of Galaga? I know I sure am!” Jaehwan screeched. He grabbed the back of Wonshik and Hongbin’s shirts and dragged them out the room, Sanghyuk following close behind.

“That’s a wonderful idea,” Hakyeon said, just a little too enthusiastically. He took Taekwoon by the shoulders and began to push him in the direction of the exit. “Come on Woonie, we need to be responsible hyungs and make sure the kids don’t get into trouble.”

Taekwoon frowned. “But I don’t want to—“

“Jaehwan said you sucked at games and that his two-year-old cousin could play better than you.”

Taekwoon’s brows shot up into his fringe, eyes widening before narrowing into a truly terrifying glare. “He’s dead."

Their manager watched with morbid fascination as Taekwoon stormed out of the room, Hakyeon running behind him, yelling about not murdering their main vocalist. He absently wondered whether or not he should start coming up with an acceptable explanation as to how their six-membered boy group was suddenly reduced to five.

“Are you sure leaving them on their own is a good idea?” one of the stylists asked with trepidation.

“It’s the weekend, no one’s in the building but us,” he motioned to the room at large, filled with staff. “It’s not like they’ll be disturbing anyone.” He gave her a half-hearted shrug. “Besides, they’re just going to the arcade. What’s the worst that could happen?”


	2. Level: Unknown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note to those who read the first chapter initially: it's received a complete overhaul. While the general plot stuff is the same I've messed around with some stuff that I think makes it flow a little better!
> 
> If this is your first time with this story: you're good? You guys were saved from the atrocity that was the original first chapter.
> 
> But anyway, as always, enjoy!

Jaehwan burst into the arcade room, panting breathlessly.

“Close call,” he gasped, releasing his grip on Hongbin and Wonshik’s clothes. “I never would have thought manager-hyung could be that cruel and calculating.”

Sanghyuk leaned back against one of the machines, pulling at his shirt to fan himself. “I don’t blame you. Did you see the look on his face? He wasn’t playing around.”

Wonshik straightened, adjusting his jacket back into some semblance of order. “Did you really have to drag us all the way here?” he grumbled, blowing messy red bangs out of his eyes.

“And risk being put to work again?” Jaehwan jeered, pouting. “Not on your life.”

Wonshik lightly swiped at his neck, Jaehwan automatically slapped back. “Don’t be dramatic. You’re acting as if manager hyung locks us away in some dungeon.”

Hongbin rolled his eyes. He approached the closest arcade machine and began mindlessly messing with the controls, mumbling under his breath about overdramatic and overtly lazy main vocalists.

“I heard that.” Jaehwan’s smile was all teeth. “But who cares? What matters is that we’re home free!” Jaehwan cheered, tugging at Wonshik’s sleeve with childish delight. “Now come on. Which one of you wants to get their ass handed to them at Street Fighter?”

Of course, no one had the chance to answer him as the arcade room door slammed open with a deafening boom. Jaehwan shrieked in surprise, automatically jumping behind an equally startled Wonshik. Sanghyuk stepped back closer to a wide-eyed Hongbin.

Taekwoon stood at the door, eyes narrowed into a glare that would have set people on fire if it could. The edges of his lips were just barely curled into the ghost of a growl.

“Hyung?” Jaehwan extracted himself from behind Wonshik. He observed Taekwoon with a critical eye. “What’s gotten into you?”

Taekwoon roved over each of them, gaze calculating, before finally landing on his intended target: Jaehwan. “You,” he whispered. 

Jaehwan blinked. “Me? But what did I—”

“Taekwoon no!” Hakyeon suddenly appeared behind the livid man. He latched onto his shoulders, physically tugging him back. “Do I need to remind you what happened the last time you two went at it? I do not need more property damage complaints!”

Wonshik raised an incredulous brow as Hakyeon wrestled the increasingly agitated shapeshifter. He leaned back to whisper into Jaehwan’s ear. “What in the world did you do?”

“Nothing!”

Wonshik’s silent judgment was piercing. Jaehwan threw his arms up in frustration. “No, for real, I didn’t do anything. I have no idea why he’s got his shorts in a twist.”

Hongbin and Sanghyuk were more than content to watch their friend’s struggles with an air of quiet exasperation.

“This is the fifth time this week,” Hongbin muttered. “And it’s only Monday.”

Sanghyuk laughed. “Bet you it’ll double by Wednesday.”

Hongbin smirked as Taekwoon launched himself at Jaehwan, pulling a squawking Hakyeon along with him. Wonshik jumped aside, reflexes quick enough for him to avoid being dragged down into the pile of flailing limbs.

Wonshik looked up at Hongbin, panicked, unsure of what to do.

Hongbin shrugged, reaching to exchange fist bumps with an amused Sanghyuk. “You’re on. Now come on, let’s go help Wonshik before he breaks out into tears, yeah?”

 

+++++++

 

Wonshik and Hakyeon watched, slack-jawed, as Taekwoon and Jaehwan proceeded to beat the ever-loving crap out of each other in one of the most intense Mortal Combat matches they had ever seen.

Wonshik blinked. “I’m—“ He winced as Taekwoon lead a particularly brutal attack, causing Jaehwan’s character to fly across the screen. “Hyung I’m—“ He cut off again as Jaehwan swore so violently that even Taekwoon side-eyed him.

“I know,” Hakyeon sympathetically patted Wonshik on the shoulder, his eyes never once leaving the screen. “Me too.”

Wonshik swallowed, watching the match for a few more seconds before glancing back over his shoulder. “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Hongbin was playing some fighting game, and from the looks of it he was winning.

Too focused on his game to look back, Hongbin shrugged. “Would you rather they beat the crap out of each other in real life?” he asked distractedly.

“…No…”

“Then let it happen, Wonshikkie. Let it happen.”

Soon enough, with a little persuasion from Hongbin’s end, Wonshik and Hakyeon deemed it safe enough to leave the two vocalists to their own devices. The pair immediately gravitated towards some kind of dance battle game and— if their uncontrollable giggles were anything to go by, they were having a good time.

Sanghyuk himself was browsing the other games. He and Hongbin had just finished the single most intense run of Galaga he’d ever played in his life, he needed a little break from the flashing lights and chip-tune jingles.

His finger dragged over the buttons of each arcade machine as he walked past them. He was able to recognize a good amount of them: Donkey Kong, Mario, Frogger, even a particularly battered looking Pong machine. It felt oddly nostalgic. He hadn’t been to an arcade for years.

He stopped as he reached the end of the row, coming to white game machine. He smiled as the screen flashed orange and blue, making the yellow letters of ‘Rock Ur Body” seem to pop of the screen. The Rovix logo sat in the very center.

Sanghyuk jostled the joystick, unsurprised when nothing happened. It wasn’t a real game after all; just something the staff had made for the MV filming. Of course it didn’t actually work.

But still, an arcade game where they were the main characters? As silly as it was, it sounded kind of cool.

What was it that the PDs had said? Something about them being superheroes and having to save a city from alien invaders? And Rovix was their companion A.I, or something like that.

Sanghyuk rolled his eyes, sometimes he couldn’t help but wonder if they got a little too caught up in concepts for their own good.

He gave the joystick one last absent jiggle before turning to head down the next aisle. As he did, he caught the screen flash particularly bright. He blinked a few times; all of these games had some pretty awful glare issues.

Sanghyuk was so distracted he nearly walked right into Hongbin, catching himself just before he crashed into his side. He was about to make a comment about not crowding the arcade aisles, but it died on his lips as he noticed the look of confusion the elder was giving a particular machine.

Sanghyuk frowned. “Hey, what’s up?”

“I don’t know—” Hongbin jostled the joystick a little harder “—I guess the game’s glitching up or something. Look.”

Intrigued, Sanghyuk glanced over his shoulder to see the flashing demo screen of a Pac-Man game. “It seems fine to me.”

“Look harder. What’s one of the most important parts of a Pac-Man game?”

Hongbin was right, he realized; something about the Pac-Man’s demo screen just seemed off— there was no other way to describe it. His eyes darted across the screen, trying to find what it was.

After a few moments, it finally hit him. “Hey, where are the ghosts?”

“No idea,” Hongbin raised a brow as the screen showed the titular character traversing through an empty maze. The other brow joined it when the Pac-Man sprite phased through one of the walls.

He and Sanghyuk exchanged dubious glances.

Sanghyuk leaned forward. “Yeah, something’s definitely wrong with this thing.” He tapped at the screen. “Weird. I was messing around with it earlier and it seemed perfectly fine.”

Hongbin made a noncommittal hum, pressing the buttons a few more times. When nothing changed, he shrugged. “A lot of these machines look pretty old. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re on their last legs.” He tugged at Sanghyuk’s sleeve. “Come on, let’s check out the other games.”

Without waiting for an answer, Hongbin sauntered down the aisle of machines, browsing the available arcade machines with a critical eye as he pulled a spluttering Sanghyuk behind him.

 

+++++

 

Jaehwan threw himself onto one of the benches lined up along the far wall of the arcade with a huff. His lips were upturned into a full on pout, arms crossed like a petulant child. He glared at an approaching Taekwoon.

“You cheated.” Taekwoon only smirked, which made Jaehwan pout even more. “You’re a cheating cheater who cheats. I’m never going to play games with you ever again.”

Taekwoon sat next to him, face a calm façade but posture screaming smugness. He ruffled Jaehwan’s hair, laughing at his disgusted splutter and desperate attempts to swat his hands away.

Wonshik joined them a few minutes later, collapsing at their feet in a sweaty, panting mess. “What happened to you?” Jaehwan asked. Taekwoon just raised a brow.

Wonshik raised a weak hand, making a gesture before letting it flop back onto his stomach. “Hakyeon hyung is,” he panted, “a lot better at Dance Dance Revolution than I was expecting.”

“Of course I am.” Hakyeon appeared from around the games, extremely satisfied. He stood over Wonshik, smiling down at him. “I spent a few years studying dance in Japan. What do you think we all did during our free time?”

“Going to arcades?” Jaehwan said, impressed. “While you should have been studying even? I never knew leader hyung was such a rebel back in the day.”

The smile that crossed Hakyeon’s face was sly. “You don’t know the half of it.”

“Ooooooh. Tell me more!”

Hongbin appeared from around the corner, eyes narrowed. “How about no? I don’t need to be subjected to another story of Hakyeon hyung’s wild adventures around Japan, thank you very much. I heard enough of them while we were still trainees.”

“But Binnie, this is important. It’s a chance to get to know our beloved leader even better.” He threw an arm over Taekwoon’s shoulder and pulled him in, shaking him slightly. Taekwoon groaned in discontent. “See, even Taekwoonie wants to hear it!”

Taekwoon glared. “I already know, you punk. So don’t bring me into your—”

“You’re no fun,” Jaehwan pushed him away with enough force to knock him off his seat. Taekwoon shifted into a small bird, fluttering up to perch on Hakyeon’s shoulder, feathers ruffled.

Hongbin snorted. “You look about as fierce as a cotton ball. That’s not very intimidat—ow!” Hongbin began swatting at air as Taekwoon dove between his flailing arms, pecking at his head. “What are you attacking me for? Jaehwan hyung’s the one who started it!”

They laughed. No one seemed inclined to help as Hongbin began to scream bloody murder.

“Hyukkie!” Jaehwan began, seeing Sanghyuk coming towards them, “Just in time to join the show—!” He stopped however, seeing Sanghyuk’s grimace. “Hey, you ok?”

“I’m fine,” he said. He gave them a weak smile, “I just have this weird buzzing in my head that won’t go away.” It caught the rest of their attention. Even Taekwoon and Hongbin had stopped their battle to take a look. 

“Buzzing,” Wonshik repeated, lips pursed in concern. “Does it hurt?”

“No, it’s just really annoying.” He rubbed at his head, making his already unruly hair even more uncontrollable. “It’s like there’s permanent white noise in my ears.”

With a frown, Jaehwan carefully swatted Sanghyuk’s hands away. He rested the tips of his fingers against his temple, whispering a few low words.

Sanghyuk felt a chill against his skin before feeling a cool wave of magic roll through his mind. It felt like a spring breeze, light and refreshing in a way he couldn’t quite put to words. The sensation slowly drowned out the buzzing, leaving it as nothing more than a faint tickle.

Jaehwan smiled at Sanghyuk’s relieved sigh, silent gratitude in his eyes. “Better?”

“Yeah,” Sanghyuk closed his eyes and leaned into Jaehwan’s touch. “A lot better.”

“Jaehwan?” Hakyeon’s worried voice made the fae look back.

“Just a little freshness spell, nothing else. The fact that it worked means it’s not anything serious.” Jaehwan shrugged. “If I had to take a guess, I’d place my bets on the good ‘ole Intuition acting up again.”

Sanghyuk made a pitiful whining noise, sounding so much like a kicked puppy that Jaehwan immediately released a second, stronger wave of magic. “I don’t want a repeat of the Nymph Incident. That was bad enough.”

Wonshik fondly cooed, a sound echoed by Taekwoon, as he resisted the urge to giggle at the reminder. Hongbin and Hakyeon weren’t so composed, hiding their chuckles behind their hands. “Aww, don’t worry, we promise we’ll protect you.”

“Gee thanks,” Sanghyuk deadpanned. “Good to know I’m so loved.”

“Of course!” Jaehwan’s eyes twinkled teasingly. “Anything for our baby Hyukkie,” he said, making kissy faces.

Sanghyuk laughed, feigning disgust when Jaehwan pulled him into a crushing hug, shaking him roughly. He pushed at his shoulders, valiantly attempting to pry him off, but it was to no avail. Jaehwan lifted Sanghyuk just above the ground, feet losing their purchase, which left Sanghyuk dangling helplessly in a loving octopus hold.

“Help!” he yelled, cheek crushed against Jaehwan’s collar. “I’m being attacked!” Their play fighting went on with the others yelling their encouragement. Even the ever-quiet Taekwoon got into it.

Sanghyuk squirmed, weighing the pros and cons of kneeing his groupmate in the stomach when something snapped across his mind, quick as a whip. He yelped, curling into Jaehwan’s shoulder.

Jaehwan immediately let him go, hands coming to rest on both his shoulders and looking at him with worried eyes. “You ok?”

Sanghyuk nodded shakily, rubbing at his temple as the buzzing came back with a vengeance. He searched the room, scrutinizing each of the game machines, but all he saw was the colorful flash of demo screens, playing along to tinny, chip-tune jingles. Essentially nothing out of the ordinary, maybe it really just his mind playing tricks on him agi—

Wait. Hold on. There.

Sanghyuk stopped, glaring. Whatever was the cause of all his grief was right there.

Jaehwan frowned, a little taken aback by the intensity of Sanghyuk’s gaze, but he followed his line of sight nonetheless. He eventually landed on the Pac-Man machine, sitting innocently in its spot, right between Galaga and Space Invaders.

Hongbin looked over Sanghyuk’s shoulder and raised a brow. “Pac-Man?”

Jaehwan marched over to the game, inspecting it thoroughly. “I’m not seeing anything. You sure about this, Hyukkie?”

“Look, all I know is that it’s giving me the creeps. I keep feeling like I’m being watched and the little voice in my head doesn’t appreciate it. I’d appreciate the buzzing to stop too, it’s really starting to get to me.”

Jaehwan regarded the machine again. He couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary; it looked like any other Pac-Man machine he’d ever seen.

But still, it was never good to ignore a warning. 

Jaehwan held a hand over the controls, whispering a quiet spell under his breath. His hand began to glow a soft yellow.

“Jaehwan?” Taekwoon called, curious. He stood, coming to stand just behind the fae as his hand hovered over different parts of machine, searching.

“I doesn’t hurt to check,” he said. “But I’m not getting anythi— wait.” His hand stopped directly over the game screen. “Hold on a second.”

He leaned in to get a better look, free hand resting on the console. He jumped back, cursing loudly, when the screen turned off. Taekwoon pulled Jaehwan back, hand curled into the material of his shirt.

The screen flicked back on. It showed the demo screen, Pac-Man traversing through a maze without a ghost in sight. As Pac-Man reached the center of the maze it stopped, turning to the screen, seemingly looking straight at them.

“What the fuck?” Jaehwan spluttered. “What even-“

The sprite opened its mouth and the machine let out an ear-splitting screech. Wonshik and Hakyeon jumped to their feet, grabbing Sanghyuk and Hongbin and pulling them back.

They all watched in horror as the sprite began to move. Only it didn’t follow the path of the maze. It ate right through the walls instead.

The buttons gradually began to press themselves. The sprite moved up and down the screen devouring everything in its path until all that was left was the flashing green words saying “DEMO SCREEN.”

It turned and started eating those too, getting bigger and bigger with each bite.

A white light began to surround the machine. The movements of the buttons and joystick becoming impossibly more frantic as the Pac Man sprite took up the entire screen. Taekwoon slowly backed away from it, pulling a thoroughly freaked out Jaehwan with him.

The white turned into a blazing red before extending outwards in a slow-moving wave. It engulfed other arcade games, causing their screens to flicker and glitch out as well. Controls clacked, static buzzed, and lights flickered across the arcade room. It was nothing short of pure chaos.

Sanghyuk shivered, slightly curling in on himself. The buzzing had grown to a steady pounding. He rested his forehead against the back in front of him— Wonshik’s— and pressed into it, hoping the pressure would offer some relief.

“Sanghyuk?” That was Hongbin. “What—“

Then it happened. A flash of blinding light exploded from the Pac-Man machine.

“Get down!” Taekwoon pulled Jaehwan to floor, covering the younger man with his body. Jaehwan buried his face in his shoulder.

Hakyeon pushed the other three to the ground and bent over them. His wings flapped out, curling around them like a feathery shield.

The light persisted, shining blindingly bright. A strong wind kicked up, ruffling their clothes and whipping about their hair. Wonshik looked up at Hakyeon, blinking as his bangs flapped into his eyes. “What’s happening?” With a flash, the light grew in intensity, making him cringe and hide his face against Sanghyuk’s hair.

“Hyung!” Hongbin tugged at Hakyeon’s shirt, eyes clenched shut against Wonshik’s shoulder. Hakyeon could barely see his face through the glare. “Hyung, do something!”

Hakyeon gritted his teeth. “I can’t! The magic is too wild, there’s no way I could control it!”

A loud crash. Hongbin gasped. Wonshik pulled him and Sanghyuk closer. Hakyeon bent over them further, his chin brushing against Wonshik’s wild hair.

“Taekwoon! Jaehwan!” he called, hoping he could be heard over the chaos. “Are you guys ok?”

Taekwoon sneaked an eye open, Hakyeon could see the effort he was putting in to see him through the blinding light. “We’re fine!”

Jaehwan squirmed out from beneath him, propping himself on his elbows. “It’s… it’s fae magic. But it shouldn’t be doing this!”

Hongbin perked up at those words. “Fae? Hyung, isn’t this your magic? Can’t you make it stop doing whatever the hell it’s doing now?”

“I tried already!” Jaehwan growled. “But it won’t listen!” He hid back against Taekwoon’s arm as particularly strong gales ripped past them, knocking him back down.

“Jaehwa—“ Hakyeon was cut off as they slammed into him, gritting his teeth as he quickly struggled to retain his balance. Beneath him Wonshik covered Hongbin and Sanghyuk’s heads with his arms, trying to offer extra protection.

Sanghyuk barely registered it. All that was going through his head was how much he wanted it all to stop: the wind, the light, his pounding head, everything. He didn’t understand how any of the others could ignore the sheer power emanating from that thing.

Oh. That’s right. He was the only one with the useless, overly sensitive Intuition. How could he have forgotten?

Before he could fall further down the path of silent self-deprecation, he heard Wonshik’s voice rumble above him. “Hey, I think it’s starting to calm down. Look.”

Sanghyuk cracked an eye open, and sure enough the blustering gale clamed into a gentle breeze— one that just barely shifted their clothes. The light began to dim into something much more bearable and, thankfully, so did the pounding in his head.

Hakyeon waited, keeping his wings up in case this was a fluke. But when nothing happened, he gave a sigh of relief before moving off the younger members. “Thank god,” he said. Wonshik released Hongbin and Sanghyuk from his grasp as well.

Across from them, Taekwoon and Jaehwan slowly sat up, looking winded. Their clothes were askew, hair looking more akin to wild bird’s nests, but they were unharmed.

“That was something I’d never like to do again,” Jaehwan said. “Ever.” Taekwoon grunted in soft agreement. “You doing ok, Hyukkie?”

“Yeah,” he said softly, still looking a little dazed. “The buzzing just disappeared all of a sudden.”

From beside him, Wonshik gulped audibly, pointing at the arcade machine with a shaky finger. “While I happy to hear that, I don’t think we’re out of the woods yet.”

With a resounding sense of dread they all turned.

“Oh my god,” Hakyeon whispered, feathers ruffling nervously. He unconsciously extended his wings to block the three youngest members from view. “Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?”

Wonshik said, “If it’s the giant Pac-Man sprite hovering above the game, then yes. Yes I do.” Hakyeon made a little noise of despair.

There was indeed a Pac-Man sprite, about the size of the arcade machine itself, floating above the game, black, pixelated eyes staring them down with an intensity that put them on edge.

Jaehwan cautiously stood, taking a few steps toward. Taekwoon tried and failed to pull him back, whispering a harsh, “what are you doing, you moron?”

Jaehwan held his hands up in placating gesture; putting on the friendliest smile he could in this circumstance. “Hey there buddy. Uh, we come in peace?” He ignored the disbelieving groan and loud smack from behind him.

The sprite did nothing; it just sat there, floating serenely in he air.

“I… I see you don’t talk. Ok. That’s cool.” Jaehwan looked over his shoulder, mouthing a desperate “what do I do?” to the rest of them.

“You’re the one who got us into this,” Hongbin whisper-screamed, still half-hiding behind Hakyeon. “Figure it out.”

Jaehwan scowled, grumbling about unhelpful groupmates when a motion from the sprite caught his attention. He turned, only to fall back with a sharp yell, scrambling away as the Pac-Man moved directly in front of his face.

Taekwoon leaped between them, shifting into the first large, intimidating animal he could think of. A massive brown bear roared at the Pac-Man, deadly claws poised to swipe at the first sign of danger.

Hakyeon grabbed Hongbin and Sanghyuk’s wrists and began to subtly pull them towards the exit. “Wonshik.” The person in question gave a sharp nod, cautiously sliding up behind Jaehwan to help him up. The Pac-Man followed every movement with cold, passive eyes. Not even the rumbling growls from Taekwoon were enough to deter it.

Hakyeon turned to Hongbin, whispering. “Your singing wouldn’t happen to work on artificial beings, would it?”

Hongbin grimaced. “No idea. Never really had a reason to find out.”

“Thought as much, since my powers are pretty much moot too. But I figured I’d ask anyway.” By now, Hakyeon had moved close enough to the arcade’s doors that he released his death grip. “Go and warn the staff,” he ordered, giving them one final push.

Hongbin’s eyes narrowed as Hakyeon quickly retreated back to Taekwoon’s side, but he dutifully reached for the door handle, turning it as quietly as he could manage. Sanghyuk kept nervously glancing over his shoulder at the Pac-Man, waiting for it to do something.

A click from the handle made Hongbin freeze, Sanghyuk held his breath behind him. He hoped that wasn’t as loud as he had imagined it to be.

When nothing happened he let out a tiny sigh of relief, trying to keep his racing heart in check. He turned the handle the rest of the way, bracing to yank it open and scramble through. A choked gasp and a terrified scream of “Hyung!” made Hongbin snap back.

One of the toy guns from some shooting game Hongbin couldn’t name was hovering out of its holder, it’s cord wrapped firmly around Sanghyuk’s ankle, trying to drag him towards it’s machine. Sanghyuk pulled at it, struggling to get free and keep his balance, but that wasn’t the thing that made Hongbin’s stomach drop.

It was the sight of the barrel, tip glowing an increasingly bright red, aimed directly at an unsuspecting Sanghyuk’s face.

Hongbin threw himself at his younger friend, pulling him down just as the beam exploded out of the barrel. He felt its heat just barely miss his shoulder, colliding with the door behind him with a sizzle of burnt wood and metal.

When he looked up, still trying to catch his breath, he saw the gun aimed for them again, poised to shot. He covered Sanghyuk’s head with both his arms, trying to offer some kind of protection, no matter how meaningless it was.

“Oh no, you don’t,” Wonshik’s deep voice growled as he seized the barrel with both hands and squeezed.

The cheap metal creaked under his draconic strength, flattening it until the barrel was properly sealed shut. Wonshik took the cord and pulled, snapping it free from its machine. Electricity arched across the tangle of wires as they ripped apart, making the gun flop lifelessly onto the floor.

“Are you ok?” Hakyeon yelled as Jaehwan rushed to help Hongbin free Sanghyuk. He heard Taekwoon release one final deafening roar at the sprite, an obvious warning for it to stay away, before lumbering after Jaehwan, shifting into a nimble black cat mid-stride.

He jumped onto Sanghyuk’s lap, resting his paws on his chest to reach up and nuzzle against his cheek. Hakyeon could hear the rumbling purrs from where he was standing.

“We’re fine,” Hongbin replied as Taekwoon fussed over him, rubbing up against his legs and tail curling possessively around them. He looked back at the door handle, melted and destroyed from the heat. It seemed like the metal had sealed the actual doors shut as well. “But we’re not going to be leaving the way we came, that’s for sure.”

Wonshik rolled his shoulder. “Leave it to me, I should be able to force it open.” But before he could do anything, a shimmer of magic swept across the doors, forming a glowing wall of light. Wonshik stepped back in surprise.

“Is… Is that a force field,” Hongbin said incredulously, coming up behind his friend to inspect this new development. “As in a boss force field?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Jaehwan hissed as he gently helped a still thoroughly shaken Sanghyuk to his feet. “What kind of game is it trying to play here?”

“An actual one from the looks of it,” Hongbin said bleakly, softly knocking against the translucent wall. He sighed when it did nothing but glow a little brighter. “What do we do now?”

Hakyeon opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by a high-pitched screech coming from across the room. The Pac-Man sprite was beginning to inch along the aisles of arcade games, it’s gaping mouth enthusiastically chomping on the air in front of it.

“W-What now?” Sanghyuk groaned pitifully. “As if being locked in with a bunch of arcade games out to kill us isn’t bad enough.”

“Hey, maybe it’s not so bad,” Wonshik cautiously offered. “It only eats ghosts in the game right?”

That was the moment the sprite turned the corner, right into their aisle, and ran directly into a metal bench. Within three bites, it was promptly eaten up. The grating scream of crushed metal made them all flinch.

Taekwoon rushed forward again, this time as the biggest lion any of them had ever seen, and roared. Sanghyuk flinched; he swore he could feel it rumble through the walls of the arcade. But even the threat of an angry lion wasn’t enough to deter the Pac-Man. It began to make its way towards them; it’s body so large it could only just barely squeezed passed the game machines. Occasionally it would bump into one, causing it to spark. The current jumped between the surrounding arcade games, making them go out of control. Buttons began to press themselves, joysticks moved on their own, and the overlapping chip-tune jingles mixed into one continuous screech. 

“This cannot get any worse.” Jaehwan began to back away, pulling Sanghyuk along with him. The sprite was rapidly approaching the halfway point of the aisle and he wanted to be as far away from it as possible. “It literally can’t.”

Hongbin’s hissed “shut up” was lost under the buzz of electricity. There was a succession of loud pops, no doubt circuits being fried, and they watched, stunned, as two more forms began to materialize from their game screens.

Sanghyuk side-eyed Jaehwan, scowling. “You were saying?” Jaehwan made a little helpless noise as the Galaga and Space Invaders ships shot into the air, circling around the room once before coming to hover just above the Pac-Man.

It quickly turned into a squawk when both sprites began to shoot at them.

The group scrambled. Hakyeon jumped behind a game machine, pulling a screaming Hongbin along with him. Wonshik threw himself forward, landing just behind Taekwoon with a groan. The lion shot him a concerned glance before turning back, teeth bared, as the Pac-Man inched forward again.

Jaehwan had turned around and practically tackled Sanghyuk back. Not expecting it, Sanghyuk collapsed under Jaehwan’s weight, his breath crushed out of his lungs as the elder fell on top of him.

“Sorry Hyukkie,” Jaehwan mumbled, having heard his pained squeak. He rolled off as carefully as possible. “But it was either this or get roasted.”

Sanghyuk sat up, groaning. “What am I, a ragdoll?” He leaned against the game machine behind him, using it to pull himself up. “But what are we going to do? If this thing can summon other sprites then we’re pretty much fucked. Are you positive you can’t magic them away or something?”

“What do you think I’ve been trying to do this whole time, invite them to a tea party?” Jaehwan hastily checked over Sanghyuk for any pressing injuries. “The magic has gone completely rogue, it won’t listen to me no mater how much I try to control it.”

“What do you mean ‘rogue’? Isn’t it your magic in the first place?”

“I know. But something’s causing it to go berserk and I can’t for the life of me figure out what it is.” He scanned the arcade, flinching when he heard Taekwoon let out another earth-shattering roar. “I know this isn’t the best moment to ask, but have you felt anything weird about this room? Anything at all?”

“Why are you asking me?” Sanghyuk bemoaned. “You’re the magic expert here!”

“Because! You felt something was up way before Hakyeon or I were able too.” He gripped at Sanghyuk’s shoulder, voice grave. “Think Sanghyuk. Has anything else seemed off today?”

“I don’t know. I guess—uh,” he stammered. “Just-Just before we left to film the dance scenes. I thought there was something funny about that Pac-Man machine, but it disappeared. It was barely even a minute I— Hyung look out!”

Jaehwan glimpsed behind him and immediately threw his arm out, conjuring up a barrier. The stray laser bounced off it, colliding with the far wall of the arcade. It left behind dark scorch marks in its wake.

Sanghyuk let out a shaky breath, pushing off the arcade machine he’d jumped back into. That had been much too close for comfort.

Click.

Both Sanghyuk and Jaehwan froze at the sound. They glanced down at the game machine to see Sanghyuk’s elbow digging into the green button labeled “start.”

“Uh, that’s not a bad thing,” Sanghyuk asked, looking to Jaehwan with wide eyes, “Right?”

Jaehwan yanked him away just as something flew out of the screen. Sanghyuk yelped as it sliced through his shirtsleeve, cutting across his forearm before lodging itself into the wall with a dull thud.

The sound seemed to spur Jaehwan on, pulling him to the end of the aisle, as far away from danger as possible. They ended up in front of the Rock Ur Body machine, it’s screen powered off, probably from the earlier electrical surge.

Sanghyuk’s hand automatically came up to cover the slash, wincing as he gingerly placed pressure on it, feeling the blood well up between his fingers.

“Let me see,” Jaehwan gently pushed his hand away, inspecting it with careful fingers. He made an upset noise once he got a good look.

“Is it bad?”

“It’s… pretty deep.” He used the torn edges of Sanghyuk’s sleeve to cover it up as best he could, fingers glowing as they trailed over the length of the cut, making Sanghyuk hiss. “That should be enough to stop the bleeding. Just keep it covered for now, ok?” Sanghyuk nodded, grimacing as the movement jostled his arm.

Jaehwan turned his attention back to the others. Hakyeon and Hongbin were still crouched behind the game machine, not able to do much but hope they wouldn’t be found. Neither one of their powers would be of any use against the sprites.

Taekwoon and Wonshik were holding their own, doing their best to keep them at bay. Every time one of them got a little too close for comfort Taekwoon would swipe, claws extended. Wonshik did his best to cover Taekwoon from above, breathing out scorching hot flames at the aircrafts.

Jaehwan growled, hand slamming down on the game console. “What are we missing? Magic, especially fae magic doesn’t go rogue without a reason.”

Sanghyuk gulped, not knowing how to help. He moved to calm him down when the screen of the Rock Ur Body game caught his attention.

“Hyung?” Jaehwan looked at him, eyebrows raised in silent question. “Wasn’t the game screen off before?” Sanghyuk leaned toward it, trying to get a better look.

“I’m pretty sure it was actually,” Jaehwan said, unamused. “Don’t tell me it’s going to join the party too.”

Sanghyuk inspected the screen. “I don’t know, I don’t see anything?”

Then, without warning, the screen went blindingly white. Sanghyuk jerked back, covering his eyes with his good arm. He couldn’t see anything through the light.

But he did feel something wrap around his good arm. It looked like—a string of code?

“What—!?” It was all Sanghyuk could yell before he was pulled forward, directly into the light. “Hyung!”

“Sanghyuk!” Jaehwan lunged forward to grab him, but just missed the edge of his shirt. His momentum caused him to fall forward directly into another string of code. It quickly wrapped around his waist and pulled him in behind his younger groupmate with a startled scream.

As Jaehwan disappeared into the blinding light he saw more strings materialize. He saw them wrap around the other members, completely immobilizing them. Even Taekwoon’s quick shapeshifting wasn’t enough to wiggle free.

Well, he thought humorlessly, his vision just about to give out. At least manager-hyung won’t have to worrying about that excuse for us mysteriously losing one member now.

 

++++++

 

Sanghyuk awoke to the feeling of something soft under his cheek and a dull stinging across his forearm. He attempted to get up but the motion made the pain spike, sharp and burning. His hand automatically flew up to grasp it, hissing as the sudden movements made his head swim.

“Hey,” a deep voice mumbled, firm, but not unkind, “leave it alone Hyukkie.” He felt his hand being carefully pulled away.

Sanghyuk forced his eyes open. He looked up, slightly blurred vision trailing up the length of a white shirt before slowly bringing into focus the face attached to it. “Wonshik?” he croaked.

“That’s Wonshik hyung to you, brat.” Despite the scolding there was nothing but relief in his voice, mouth curved into a small smile. “Good to see you’re awake.”

Sanghyuk blinked slowly. “How long have I been out?”

“Not too long. The rest of us woke up about fifteen, twenty minutes ago?” He tapped at his watch, squinting down at it. Sanghyuk noticed how the tiny red seconds hand was completely still. “Can’t be sure though, it hasn’t been working since we got here.”

That got Sanghyuk’s attention. He turned a little, trying to get a better view of their surroundings without lifting his head; Wonshik’s lap was warm and surprisingly comfortable. “Do we even know where here is? Because that last thing I remember was getting yanked by—“ He cut himself off. “Hyung,” he said, blinking rapidly, “are those Tetris pieces sticking out of the walls?”

There were indeed Tetris blocks—or what seemed like them anyway, emerging from the dark walls of whatever this place was. A few smaller pieces were suspended in mid air, calmly hovering well above their heads. 

Wonshik shrugged, the action almost too nonchalant considering there were giant Tetris blocks floating above them. “Your guess is as good as mine, but yeah I’d say so. Don’t look at me like that, we all freaked out about it earlier. You were still out.”

Sanghyuk perked up at the mention of the others, trying to spot them. “Where even are they anyway?”

Wonshik motioned to behind him, most likely to the other side of the block he was leaning against. “We were trying to come up with a plan to deal with those sprites, but Hongbin and Jaehwan started going into gamer lingo and that was my cue to tap out.”

Sanghyuk gave him an incredulous look before burying his face against Wonshik’s stomach with a groan; even that small motion was enough to make his head swim. “So basically, they’re being nerds?”

Wonshik snorted. “Well, when you put it like that.” He twisted a strand of golden hair around his finger, still baby-soft and silky despite the bleaching, and playfully tugged at it.

Sanghyuk grunted but didn’t move to stop him; too busy focusing on the steady rise and fall of Wonshik’s stomach. It was doing a nice job of distracting him from how god-awful he felt. “I feel like I was put through a blender.” 

“Only a blender?”

“Hyung.”

“Kidding, kidding. Just give it a bit, it’ll pass soon.”

Thankfully, he was right. After a few minutes the dizziness gradually began to abate. This time when Sanghyuk attempted to sit up Wonshik made no move to stop him, only watching him with concerned eyes when he reached for his arm again.

“You ok?” he asked.

“Mmhm. I don’t feel like my head’s about to roll off, so that’s nice.” He sat back against the wall-? Tetris block-? Whatever. “So, care to fill me in on what’s happened?”

Wonshik gave him a terse look before sighing, getting comfortable. “So I should probably start off by saying that we may or may not be trapped inside an arcade game.”

 

++++++

 

Meanwhile, the remaining members of the eponymous boy group VIXX were in the middle of hashing out some kind of game plan to take back the arcade. 

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” Taekwoon said, voice laced with a quiet frustration. They’d been at this for what felt like hours and they were getting nowhere. “But Hakyeon’s power had no effect and Jaehwan couldn’t control them, and they’re the most experienced of us in terms of magical knowledge.”

“I know, but we can’t keep hiding here forever,“ Hongbin insisted. “That will get us nowhere, we need to do something.” He hummed, racking his brain for every shred on information about video game mechanics. “Maybe… maybe these things are running on zombies can’t open doors logic or something.”

Everyone went quiet. Taekwoon looked at him, long and hard and so silently judging it rivaled every time he had been asked to act cute on live broadcast. “The what?”

Hongbin blinked. “Zombies can’t open doors? You know, that thing every horror game does where zombies can do everything minus working a door handle?” The elder’s silence was more telling than any words could have been. “Have you never played Resident Evil before?” He sounded slightly aghast.

Somehow the silence became even more judging and Hongbin groaned. “Look, I’m not saying these things can’t open doors, I’m saying it’s a similar logic. They’re dangerous, we know that for sure, but they have to have one fatal flaw. Otherwise it’d be bad game design, you’d never be able to win against them.”

Hakyeon raised a brow, exchanging a look with Jaehwan. “So we just need to figure out what that fatal flaw is.”

“Exactly. It’s usually something really simple, something obvious.” Hongbin began pacing, hands running through his hair in irritation. “The question is what the hell are we missing? What’s so obviously sitting right in front of our noses that we’re not seeing it?”

It was a very good point; if these things had weaknesses in their respective games then they had to transfer over to the real world as well.

Hakyeon mentally laid out what they knew about the sprites. Even before the barrier appeared they’d made no attempts to go beyond its walls, so it made sense to assume they were restricted to the confines of the arcade. They could attack and move the same way they did in their games. They had no qualms about attacking him, or Hongbin and Sanghyuk, but were wary of Taekwoon, Wonshik, and—

“Wait!” Hakyeon exclaimed, turning to Jaehwan. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but I never saw any of them going after you.”

Hongbin’s brows furrowed, lips pursing. “Actually, you’re right. The only time they went after him was while he was pulling Hyukkie around, and they were a lot more interested in Hyukkie than him.”

“I’m guessing it’s because of the fae magic.” Jaehwan said thoughtfully. They all turned to him in interest and he shrugged. “The magic of the fae is powerful, it takes a lot to make it go out of control, and even more so for it to intentionally harm it’s original castor. Since those sprites were created from it, I’m assuming they know getting rid of me means getting rid themselves too.”

They allowed a few moments to process this new knowledge before Taekwoon piped up. “I’m assuming offing Jaehwan isn’t a viable option, which would only be fair considering he got us into this mess in the first place,” he continued, speaking over Jaehwan’s indignant squawk, “but if he can regain control, wouldn’t he be able to send the sprites back to their games?”

Jaehwan shot him a pointed glare. “That’s what I tried to do,” he snapped. “But it’s too disorganized, too scattered for me to command it. I’d need to find where it’s originating from and then control it from there to do anything.”

There! That was it! Hongbin’s eyes widened. “The one fatal flaw,” he breathed. “Hyung that might be what we’re looking for! Do you know where it is?”

“I have my suspicions, but I need to talk to Sanghyuk before I can be sure.”

“Wait, what do we need to talk about?” They whipped towards the tower of blocks to see Sanghyuk appear from behind it, Wonshik following him like a silent guard. “And what’s this I’m hearing about potentially offing Jaehwan hyung?”

 

++++++

 

They watched as the humans were pulled into their world with a flash of light and a crackle of code. They watched as the winged one—an angel their databanks informed— was the first to wake, and immediately began to rouse his companions. They watched as slowly each one groggily returned to consciousness, all except the smallest one, the human.

They watched from the beyond the shadows, in-between the glowing 1s and 0s that built the very foundations of this space. They watched, and they listened.

Listened to them plan. Listened to them argue and bicker. Listened to the quiet frustration blossom into something softer, lighter, when the little one finally awoke.

Perhaps now was the correct moment to reveal themsleves.

 

++++++

 

The members startled violently as the lights within the space went out, leaving them in pitch-blackness.

“Hey!”

“You gotta be kidding me?”

In their scramble they failed to notice the pair of glowing eyes emerging from the shadows.

“What the—“

Those eyes exploded in a burst of white light, leaving the six members of VIXX in total blindness. When it faded, they were surprised to see the room had changed.

Taekwoon was the quickest to recover. He observed their new surroundings with an air of caution.

“Taek?” Hakyeon asked, still rubbing at his eyes. He could just make out that peculiar way Taekwoon narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his nose; it usually spoke of an unhappy shapeshifter. “Is something wrong?”

Taekwoon’s expression soured further. “No, nothing bad.”

“Then why does it seem like you swallowed a lemon?”

“You’ll see.”

“What could be so— oh. Wow.” Hakyeon said when he finally got a look. He shot an uncertain look at Wonshik and Jaehwan; the pair still seemed a little dazed. “It’s very…very…uh.”

Hongbin released an unimpressed snort. “Star Trek called, they said they want their set back,” he deadpanned. 

Sanghyuk had to admit he wasn’t too far off, the entire room looked like something out of a sci-fi movie. Clinically white walls broken up by glowing panels lead to what seemed like a giant rectangular screen at the far end; it’s black and white design looked almost psychedelic. Sanghyuk raised a curious brow as they pulsed with light.

“Ok, questionable décor aside,” Wonshik said, still trying to blink away the spots in his vision. The glaring brightness of the room really wasn’t helping. “What the heck was that about? Should we be worried?”

Jaehwan threw his presence around the room, looking for any disturbances. “Well, there’s definitely magic here, but that’s pretty much it. Hakyeon hyung?”

The angel gave the room a cursory glance before shaking his head. “No, nothing out of the ordinary. The only souls I’m feeling are ours and— Sanghyuk don’t touch that!”

The aforementioned member had moved closer to examine the black and white screen and his hand was mere inches from touching it. Hakyeon’s cry startled him and Sanghyuk jumped so violently he ended up knocking against the screen. It let out a loud thunk that echoed in the small room.

And then, because their day couldn’t get any better, the black and white panels began to move. Sanghyuk froze; looking to the world like a deer staring at an oncoming car as some kind of computer screen flickered into existence.

“Uh. I didn’t—?” he stammered, laughing nervously. “—I didn’t do it?”

Hakyeon scowled, marched up to him, and gave him a solid slice to neck.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“For being a brainless fool that’s what! How is it that your first reaction to mysterious things is to touch them?”

“I thought it was just some fancy art thing. It looked harmless.”

“Harmless? _Harmless?_ We’re you not paying attention to the video game characters that were trying to kill us?”

“I—“

“You can’t just assume _anything_ is harmless!”

The screen flickered as lines of code flew across it, too fast for any normal person to read. A progress bar formed along the bottom, slowing inching it’s way across. 

 

+++++

 

They impatiently waited for the download to finish. They would be of no use to them if their functions were not at their fullest capacity.

And based on what they had observed, they would most certainly need it.

The little human was directly in front of the screen, so their view was limited. But even with their limited view they could see the fae and the merman leap forward to restrain the angel or else risk him strangling the little human. 

_Download Complete. Initiating Program Sequence._

Ah, finally. Perhaps now they could be of some use. 

 

+++++

 

Sanghyuk blinked a few times. He suddenly felt like he was being watched again. Only it didn’t feel the same; he wasn’t getting any 

For some reason he couldn’t fathom, he was tempted to look at the screen again. This time instead of lines of code he saw an eerily familiar form begin to take shape, growing larger and larger until it took over most of the screen.

Sanghyuk cocked his head slightly, watching the shape become clearer and clearer. There was no doubt about it; he knew exactly what it was, he just didn’t understand why.

“Hey, is it just me or does that look an awful lot like Rovix to you?”

Hongbin and Jaehwan were still busy trying to calm a raging Hakyeon, but he felt Wonshik come up behind him, intrigued. “Not that you say it, yeah it does. But it makes sense I guess. This is the machine for Rock Ur Body after all.” Taekwoon watched from aside, frowning lightly.

The three continued to watch as Rovix’s outline was completed. Soon color slowly began to seep into the shape, revealing the colorful blues, yellows, and reds that identified their robot mascot.

“Ok,” he heard Taekwoon drawl, still very confused as the image was completed. Nothing really happened. “Now what?”

“Now.” They froze, startled by the voice that seemed to echo through the entire room. It even made Hakyeon pause in his tirade. “I can carry out my intended functions.”

None of them had the chance to scream before something shot out from the back wall and winded itself around Sanghyuk before yanking him off his feet. Taekwoon was the quickest to react and Sanghyuk immediately grasped his outstretched hand, but was unable to get a better hold before one sharp tug pulled him free.

Sanghyuk heard one last scream of his name before he was pulled through the back wall and the white room disappeared behind a flurry of code.

 

+++++

 

The angel attempted to follow, but it was to no avail. By the time he reached the back wall it had re-solidified. He stepped back, staring at the wall with an edge of desperation as the half-dragon and fae attacked it with their combined strength.

They realized within seconds that this was mostly likely not the greatest course of action. Amends were called for, but they would have to wait.

Their current objective took a higher priority.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After literal months I'm finally back with this story and (most importantly) know where I'm going with it! No promises as to when the next one will be out but I assure you progress is being made!


End file.
